Did the Soviet Union have income inequality?

The Soviet Union was less unequal than almost -but not quite- all societies that exist today. Here’s income share of the top 10\% in Russia, versus France and the USA. As you can see, it was low right up until about the end of communism. Source: Filip Novokmet, Thomas Piketty, Gabriel Zucman (2017).

Did everyone have the same salary in the Soviet Union?

Money wage in Soviet parlance was not the same as in Capitalist countries. The money wage was set at the top of the administrative system, and it was the same administrative system which also set bonuses. Wages were 80 percent of the average Soviet workers income, with the remaining 20 coming in the form of bonuses.

What were Soviet workers paid?

The average wage of the Russian worker according to the official Soviet figures is 170 rubles. This corresponds to the purchasing power of 306 kronen (170 x 1.80). Thus the average wage of the Russian worker is still about 50\% below the average wage of the Czech worker, which is 600 kronen per month.

What is the income inequality in Russia?

Recently, income inequality in Russia has risen so that the top 1 percent of earners’ combined income is as high as 20-25 percent of the national income. This is comparatively much higher than Eastern European countries, where the top 1 percent income shares of wealth make about 10 to 14 percent of income.

Does Russia have inequality?

Russia has gone from Soviet-era egalitarianism to extremes of wealth and poverty. Economic growth since 2000 has slightly reduced the gap between rich and poor, but inequality is still higher than in most other developed countries.

How much did people work in the Soviet Union?

And what did Soviet workers actually get? According to one International Labor Organization report (1994), pre-revolutionary Russian workers worked 10-12 hours per day, six days a week. That’s a lot: 60-72 hours per week. After the Revolution, a 8 hour/day week (but six days per week) was imposed.

What is Russia Gini coefficient?

37.5
GINI Index for the Russian Federation (SIPOVGINIRUS) Download

2018:	37.5
2017:	37.2
2016:	36.8
2015:	37.7
2014:	39.9

Is income inequality high in the Soviet Union?

Income inequality was high under Tsarist Russia, then dropped to very low levels during the Soviet period, and finally rose back to very high levels after the fall of the Soviet Union. Top income shares are now similar to (or higher than) the levels observed in the US.

How has Russia changed the distribution of income and wealth?

Russia has undergone a dramatic economic and political transformation since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990-1991, yet the consequences on the distribution of income and wealth are not very well documented and understood.

Where does Russia rank on the global inequality list?

Measured by the top 10-percent income share, Russia today appears in the World Inequality Lab database in the same inequality band as the United States and China. Income inequality is reported as greater in a few countries: Turkey, India, South Africa, and Brazil.

What is the structure of the Russian economy?

The structure of the Russian economy. Russia’s present economic structure was basically formed in the 1950s. It was then that the Soviet Union began to lay the foundation for a raw material-based economy, while in the 1960s one of its objectives was to secure the status of an energy superpower.